


chains

by mkairi



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Fluff, M/M, Panic Attacks, Slow Build, Witch AU, Witch!Tsukishima, Yamaguchi Tadashi Protection Squad, it kinda drags on a bit but it will be worth it, lowkey kagehina, who even knows where this story will go, will add more tags as we go to avoid spoilers, yamaguchi finds a pendant then everything goes downhill
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-24
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-06-03 13:32:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6612493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mkairi/pseuds/mkairi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Yamaguchi Tadashi stole a pendant from the field down the road, it was both a good and bad idea.<br/>It led to him to meet a witch, who called himself Tsukishima Kei.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. stolen pendant

Stealing a pendant from the field down the road was both a good and bad idea.

Yamaguchi Tadashi held the old-looking pendant in his hands, not really knowing exactly what to do with it. He flipped it around a few times, examining it. It was round, with a few engravings on either side. He couldn't make out what they said. The pendant itself was grey in colour, though there were spots of white. Yamaguchi was just an college student who had too much time on his hands. He completes his homework as soon as he gets home, but that leaves him with nothing to do. Sometimes, his friend Hinata would come over, but apparently he was busy all this week. So, Yamaguchi had decided to explore the field down the road. He had not lived here for long, but he had never seen anyone enter the field. When he went there, it just seemed normal. The grass was quite long in some places, while in others it was as short as his front lawn’s (which was nicely trimmed, mind you). Yamaguchi hadn’t seen any footprints or anything but he continued exploring. In one of the short-grassed spots there was the pendant. Of course Yamaguchi was suspicious, but his curiosity got the better of him. He picked up the locket and braced for the ground to collapse or for someone to come and attack. After standing still for a minute or two, he declared himself safe. He slowly walked back to his unit while studying the pendant. Now he was here.

 _It’s probably nothing special._ He sighed, and placed the piece of jewellery on the coffee table. He sat on his couch and switched on the TV. He picked up a book he was studying for English. Even though he never listened fully, he liked having the TV on in the background as he reads. He’d already gone past the set limit of pages, but he didn’t care. After reading for about twenty minutes, his stomach started grumbling. He sighed and placed his book down. He decided that he’d just cook himself some pasta. He stretched and got up. He rushed through the steps that he’d remembered off by heart. He boiled the water, placed the pasta in, and waited. He sat back at his couch, picking up his book from where he’d left off.

Then he smelt smoke.

Yamaguchi stood up in a panic, looking toward his meal. It was perfectly fine, casually bubbling away. He tentatively walked up to it. It was still cooking normally. He smelt in again, still smelling smoke and ash.

 _My food’s okay, so what’s making my house smell like this?_ He thought. Did a powerpoint set something on fire? He thought, panic setting in. He rushed to his bedroom, checking the lamps and where he charged his phone and laptop. Then his bathroom, then his spare bedroom. He made sure nothing was on fire.

 _Then what’s making my house smell?_ He questioned. _Whatever, it’s probably just a neighbour barbecuing or something._ He walked back to his kitchen/dining/lounge room area.

And he saw someone.

_Someone was in his house._

Yamaguchi froze in spot, staring at the stranger who had just appeared into his house. He held his breath, not wanting to let the random person know he’s here. The tall stranger looked directly to him and Yamaguchi didn’t know what to do. Even against his will, his breath sped up.

 _Crap, he’s either gonna rob or kill me. Or both._ Yamaguchi made eye contact with the person. He had golden-brown eyes, hidden behind his black-framed glasses. He was wearing a black hoodie with white lining. Yamaguchi slowly lifted his hands up in a surrender sign, not wanting to offend this unwelcome guest. The air was tense for both of them. “Wait, you think I’m going to kill you?” The boy asked, smiling. Yamaguchi tiled his head, not knowing what to answer. The stranger ran a hand through his blond hair, smirking. “Relax. I don’t plan on hurting you.” He stated. Yamaguchi let out a breath that he didn’t realise he was holding. He took a hesitant step towards the person.

“Who are you?” He asked. The blond smiled.

“Me? Well, I can’t really say my name.” He replied.

“What do you mean? You just came into my house, saying you’re not gonna hurt me, yet you won’t just simply tell me your name?” Yamaguchi asked. The blond boy stayed silent. Yamaguchi sighed. “Fine then. Just tell me what you’re doing here.” he asked.

“I’m just trying to find what you stole.” the stranger replied. _What I stole?_ Yamaguchi thought. Then he realised.

_Crap, the pendant._

Yamaguchi spotted the pendant on the coffee table, exactly where he left it. Both him and the stranger were about equal distance from it. For some reason he felt that the pendant shouldn’t get into the stranger’s hands. He stood forward to begin to run to get it, but the stranger moved.

Impossibly fast. He was there, then back in a second. He was smirking, holding the pendant by the chain. He swung the pendant around, getting the chain twisted around his fingers.

“What do you plan on doing with that?” Yamaguchi asked, even though he should have really asked how he ran that fast.

“Well, it’s supposed to be what I’m looking after. I should be the one asking you that. What were you planning on doing with it?” The man asked.  “What was your pendant doing into a field?” Yamaguchi retorted.

“That will be explained later.” The stranger replied.

“Later? I won’t be seeing you ‘later’. You’re just a stranger who came into my house.” Yamaguchi stated, though there was.. _something_ that made him slightly attracted to this random male.

“ ‘A stranger’, huh?” he said, “are you sure about that, Yamaguchi Tadashi?”

Yamaguchi froze at the sound of his full name. Unwillingly, his hands begun to shake.

“H-How did you know my name?” He asked, his voice stuttering. The blond grinned.

“Well, your name is on the head of your bed, so I kinda knew.” he stated. Yamaguchi sighed in relief, because this random guy wasn’t some weird telepathic murderer.

“Okay-” he began, but then realised something, “ _wait._ How did you know that my name was on the head of my bed?” he asked.

“I was looking for my me- ‘pendant’.” the blond replied, with a degree of finality. But Yamaguchi wasn’t having any of that.

“Fine. You know my name, what’s yours?” He asked, his question coming out more intensely then he had expected.

“I’ve already told you, that I can’t really say it.” the boy said.

“Fine. What can I call you, that you _can_ say?” Yamaguchi deadpanned.

“Well.. you can call me Tsukishima Kei.” He replied.

“Tsukishima.. Kei..” Yamaguchi said. He liked the way it sounded.

“Back to what we were originally talking about. What were doing you with the pendant?” Tsukishima asked.

“I.. I don’t really know. I found it in a field and now it’s here.” Yamaguchi explained. Tsukishima’s face went pale for a second, but he composed himself.

“Well, that’s a problem.” He stated.

“A problem? What do you mean it’s a problem?” Yamaguchi asked.

“What you’ve just found is a thing not meant to be found by ordinary humans.” Tsukishima said. Yamaguchi stood stunned for a second.

“So, you’re not human?” he asked, but then realised how stupid that sounded.

“Don’t go jumping to conclusions. But that.. pendant should not have been picked up. By someone like you, especially.” Tsukishima explained.

“What do you mean, ‘someone like me’?” Yamaguchi asked. There were too many questions. He swore he saw a hint of red on Tsukishima’s face, but it faded quickly, making Yamaguchi think he was imagining things. Which he probably was, considering how confused he was. “Wait, what are you then?” He asked. The side of Tsukishima’s mouth twitched, as if holding back a smile.

“Oh, me? I guess you could call me a witch.” He stated. Yamaguchi stared in disbelief, for a few seconds, but then snapped back to reality.

 “You’re insane. Get out of my house. You’re not a witch.” He stated.

“Really? Then how would you explain how fast I got to the pendant and back?” Tsukishima asked.

“You’re.. uh.. good at sport?” Yamaguchi tried to convince him.

“What about this?” Tsukishima stated. He lifted his hand up, pointing his palm up towards the roof. He stared at it for a few seconds, but nothing happened.

“Um..” Yamaguchi said awkwardly. Nothing was happening. “I don’t think-” he begun, but was interrupted. Slowly a black light seemed to shine from Tsukishima’s hand. It bubbled up, then formed a sphere that floated a few inches above his hand. Yamaguchi blinked a few times. Tsukishima stopped looking at his hand, just to look at Yamaguchi. Not to see if he was shocked, so he could gloat. It was almost as if he was searching him with his eyes. Not in an attracted way, it was as if he was looking through him, reading him in every way. He looked back to the sphere and closed his eyes, Yamaguchi froze when the sphere expanded, beginning to look like smoke, with colours slowly appearing. There were orange stars splattered across the smoke. He saw small spots of a brown-green appearing. Red droplets appeared, avoiding the spots but running into the orange stars. Every now and then, a pink shape would appear, but disappear into the smoke almost instantly. Yamaguchi stood, mesmerised by it.

“Interesting.” Tsukishima stated, making Yamaguchi jump.

“Wait, what’s interesting?” He asked. Tsukishima looked back to him, holding the black smoke to the side.

“First things first. Do you believe me now?” He asked. Yamaguchi nodded. _I really shouldn’t be trusting some random guy who just appeared in my house, but theres something that draws me to to him._ He thought. Tsukishima did something that resembled a smile.

“So, you hate your freckles?” He asked. Yamaguchi felt a pang in his chest, and he bit his lip.

“W-What makes you think that?” he stuttered.

“Well, you’ve hated them for quite a while. I, personally, don’t think they’re bad, but it’s your opinion.” Tsukishima replied. _He likes them?_ Yamaguchi thought.

“Fine. I do. Anything else you can tell about me?” he queried.

“Nope. I can only focus on one bit at a time.” Tsukishima replied. “Back to business. You need to hear me out on this.” he stated. Yamaguchi nodded slowly, unsure whether to fully commit to it.

“Okay..?” he said.

“You’ve found this pendant. It’s really important to a certain someone, but I was in possession of it for.. reasons. He’ll eventually find out that his item is in possession of a human, and when he does.. oh boy.” Tsukishima tried to explain. Yamaguchi tilted his head to the right, like a confused puppy.

“Can’t you just take it back and leave me out of this? Maybe.. you’re a witch and all.. you could just pretend it never happened?” he asked. Tsukishima sighed.

“It’s really not that easy. You’ve Imprinted yourself onto the pendant, and it will forever have your Marking on it. It would take some serious magic - God, that word really downplays it - to get it removed.” he explained.

“Imprinted? Marking?” Yamaguchi asked, trying to make sense of what he was saying.

“Marking - the individual showing of a human or other being that is left behind when touching witch’s objects. Imprinting - the act of leaving a Marking.” Tsukishima stated, almost like a dictionary.

“But you’re holding it right now, what would that mean?” Yamaguchi asked, gesturing to the pendant that Tsukishima was swinging around by the chain.

“Oh, me? Since I’m also a witch, my Marking will go away in two or three hours. The higher status being you are, the longer the Marking will stay.” he explained.

“So, does that mean humans are the highest status of being, since our ‘Marking’ stays forever?” Yamaguchi asked. Tsukishima shrugged nonchalantly.  


“If you want to put it that way, go ahead.” he replied.

“Okay, I still don’t understand all this stuff and I’m highly confused, but what do I have to do now?” Yamaguchi asked.

“Nothing really. I just have to stay with you. Protect you, you could say.” Tsukishima said. Yamaguchi almost choked on his spit.

“Excuse me?” he asked, “how do I know you won’t just kill me? You literally walked into my house, said you’re a witch, explained some stuff, and now you’re saying you want to stay with me?” he questioned. Tsukishima did something which resembled a smile.

“You have every right to think that. But since you’ve got the pendant, I have to stay with you.” he stated plainly. Yamaguchi crossed his arms over his chest.

“Okay. Say something to convince me.” he put forward. Tsukishima nodded.

“Sure. You're a college student currently studying hospitality. Your favourite subject is English, as you mostly have to read and that’s something you like doing.. um..” Tsukishima seemed stumped.

“Okay, that’s all fine. But how do you know all the stuff about me?” Yamaguchi asked.

“This is going to sound weird, but believe me. Once every five years or so, witches are asked to study someone. We use potions and things to understand them better. I could sense you would do something incredibly da- important soon, so I chose you. And look where I ended.” Tsukishima explained. Yamaguchi suddenly felt very self-conscious, like this person knew everything about him. 

He sighed. “Okay, but what do you need? Are you gonna always be around me?” he asked.

“One, I don’t need anything. And two, no I won’t constantly be around you. I’ll stay over sometimes, I just have to protect you.” Tsukishima stated. Yamaguchi felt relief that this person won’t be near him twenty-four/seven.

“Fine, Tsukishima.” he said. The name felt weird coming out of his mouth. If he was going to be around this person for any longer, he’d need to call him something else. 

“Tsukishima.. Tsu.. ki.. Tsukki!” he exclaimed. Tsukishima cringed at this new nickname, but went along with it anyway.

“So.. what do you do now?” Yamaguchi asked. Tsukishima shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know.” he said.

“Wait. So, you come into my house, say you're a witch whose been studying me, saying you need to protect me, now you _don’t know what to do?_ ” Yamaguchi said.

“It seems that that’s correct.” Tsukishima said. Yamaguchi grunted in anger, then walked directly up to the blond. Yamaguchi was a little shorter than him, maybe a few inches. He looked into Tsukishima’s eyes, mesmerised by the brilliant colour. They were gold, and they seemed to shine as if that’s what they were made of. There’d be a spot of brown here and there, making the gold even brighter. “Yes?” Tsukishima asked, and Yamaguchi jumped from his trance.

“Ah! I’m sorry.” he exclaimed. Tsukishima smirked.

“It’s fine. On that note, I’m going to go.” he said. Yamaguchi nodded, not really knowing what else to say. The timer on the oven for his pasta beeped, and he turned to it. He turned back to Tsukishima.

More like, the spot where Tsukishima was. There was nothing to prove he was there in the first place, but a general uneasy air. But Yamaguchi felt as if something was missing. Apart from Tsukishima himself.

The pendant? Nope, it was sitting on the coffee table, as if Tsukishima had never picked it up in the first place. It was uneasily quiet.

“Didn’t I have the TV on..?” he asked himself. He looked over to the stand the TV was usually on. Usually.

Tsukishima had stolen his television. Or it had just mysteriously disappeared. Yamaguchi groaned.

“I’m just a simple college student trying to live my life. But _no_ , a witch had to appear and say he has to protect me, then leaves _with my television._ ” he said to himself.

This wasn’t going to end well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you've enjoyed my first chapter! i was thinking of tsukkiyama aus (and had just read an amazing one) and this is what happened.  
> thank you ^-^


	2. power selection

Yamaguchi sat on his couch, reading as usual. It had been three days since the witch - Tsukishima - had appeared in his house. He hadn’t come back, which led Yamaguchi to think that either Tsukishima or himself was insane. Probably both. Yamaguchi had his music on shuffle, and was bopping his head to the music while reading. He’d spent the past three days thinking about Tsukishima, and what he wanted in the first place. Maybe he was just some random guy who wanted a TV. _That wouldn’t explain how he made the weird magic sphere thing and how he researched all that stuff about me,_ he thought. He placed his book down, using a scrap piece of paper as a bookmark. He leaned over and grabbed the pendant from the table. It was warm to the touch, which was odd, since yesterday it felt almost freezing. He held it by the chain and lifted it up to study the pendant. The colour seemed more brown than when he first found it. Maybe touching it wasn’t the best idea. He spun the chain so it wrapped around his finger. He’d gotten the habit of doing that from Tsukishima doing it the whole time he had the pendant. Yamaguchi sighed, and gently unwrapped the chain from around his finger. He placed it down on the table and then took his headphones off. He got up and walked to his room. He saw the wooden slab with his name painted onto it in two colours. Orange and black. The number twelve was squished onto the side, representing the number he was for the majority of his time at the club. He’d made the sign when he joined his high school volleyball team, and he has kept it ever since. He thought about Tsukishima was here, and that’s the reason he learned his name.

Why did his mind always go back to Tsukishima?

Also, he’d never figured out what that burning smell was. He’d confirmed it wasn’t anything in his house, so he’d just brushed it off as someone else cooking or something. Though he had the nagging suspicion that Tsukishima had something to do with it. _Whatever,_ he thought, and walked back to the kitchen area. He checked the clock. It was almost time for him to leave for school, but he decided he could spare a few minutes to finish the chapter he was up to. He flopped back onto the couch, putting his headphones back on. He opened his book and continued reading. After a few minutes he felt a vibration in his pocket, and he knew what it meant.

 _I should probably leave now,_ he thought. He closed his book, stopped his music and got up. He stuffed everything into his bag and hauled it over his shoulder. He locked the door behind him. He walked slowly, not caring about getting there too fast, as there was still a while until his first class started. He walked across the road, not looking to see if there was anyone there. He heard the sound of wheels on tarmac and he quickly turned to the right. A large black car was barreling towards him. Yamaguchi knew that he should run but his body refused to move, planting him in the middle of the road.

This is it.

This is how it ended for him.

You know how they said your life flashes before your eyes before you die?

It was partially true.

Memories of the past week flowed into his mind. Taking the pendant, meeting Tsukishima, all those hours wondering what the hell it meant. This was all in the space of less than a second.

Instead of running, Yamaguchi squeezed his eyes shut. He wanted it to be over as soon as possible. He heard the drone of the horn of the car.

He braced himself for impact.

It didn’t come. He opened his eyes and found himself on the side of the road. He blinked a few times, looking around. He heard the sound of a vehicle. He looked back up the road and saw the same black car travelling casually down the street. Shock flowed through him, making him dizzy.

What the hell just happened? 

He looked back around and saw a park bench. He decided he needed a break. He sat on the bench, contemplating what had just happened.

“Jeez, you have to be more careful.” Someone said in a scolding tone. Yamaguchi whipped his head around to find the owner of the voice. He came face-to-face with Tsukishima, who had seemingly just materialised.

“What the hell just happened?” Yamaguchi asked the question that had been in his head.

“I saved you. It was a close one.” Tsukishima replied, shrugging.

“I- What?! How!? That car was zooming towards me and suddenly I was on the other side, then _the same car_ came down the street a few seconds later!” Yamaguchi shouted in reply.

“I saw you were in trouble, and I stopped it from happening. Is that a good enough explanation for you?” Tsukishima asked.

“No! How did you save me? Certain death was literally right there, but I survived! Then the car that could’ve cause my death just casually strolled down the street afterwards, and you expect that to be a good enough explanation?” Yamaguchi said, staring directly at Tsukishima.

“I don’t expect you to understand, just be glad I saved you.” he replied nonchalantly.

“Fine. Thanks for saving me.” Yamaguchi said, finally giving up on asking for an explanation. Truly, he was just glad he survived. Then suddenly it hit him. He literally could’ve died out there. If it weren’t for Tsukishima, he wouldn’t even be here. _I could be **dead** ,_ he thought. For some reason, tears pricked in his eyes. He swallowed back the tears. He wiped his eyes, making sure none show.

“You alright there?” Tsukishima asked. Yamaguchi couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or was being genuinely nice. It was probably the former. Yamaguchi nodded, forcing a smile.

“I’m fine.” he said. Tsukishima didn’t seem convinced, but shrugged it off.

“You’d better get to class.” he stated. Yamaguchi was taken aback for a second, then composed himself.

“I-I should. You’re right.” he said. He began to get up and Tsukishima also stood up. Yamaguchi looked at Tsukishima. “Thanks again for s-saving me.” he said quietly. He suddenly felt an overwhelming urge build up in his chest. His brushed it away, as he felt it was not necessary.

Yamaguchi tugged his bag back onto his shoulders, then continued walking the way to school. He turned back to wave to Tsukishima, but he had already seemingly _disappeared_ again. Thoughts about his near-death experienced plagued him through the entire day.

**-x-**

“And then he was all like _‘WHAM’_ then I was like- Yamaguchi, are you even listening?” Hinata asked. Yamaguchi had been spacing out all day, thinking about the incident this morning. Every time he thought about it his heart sped up considerably.

“Hinata, have you ever had a near death experience?” he asked, seemingly randomly. Hinata looked confused.

“I’ve been hit in the face by a volleyball a few times, but I couldn’t have really died from th-” he began, but Yamaguchi stopped him.

“No, like a _real_ brush with death.” It was unlike Yamaguchi to interrupt anyone, so Hinata knew instantly something was up.

“Anything wrong?” he asked. Yamaguchi sighed.

“I don’t expect you to believe me, but please listen.” he started and Hinata nodded enthusiastically. “This morning when I was walking to school, I was almost hit by a car.” he said. Hinata suddenly got worried, asking rapid fire questions.

“Are you okay? Did you get hurt? Wait, did someone help you? Were you by yourself? Were you jaywalking? Yamaguchi, it’s not like you to _jaywalk_ -” he asked, but - yet again - Yamaguchi cut him off.

“Yes, no, yes, yes, kinda,” he said, answering the questions, “but it was odd. Please hear me out on this, though you probably won’t believe me.” he asked, and Hinata nodded, his orange hair flying everywhere. “I was crossing the road, then I heard the car. I saw it heading towards me, so I froze,” Yamaguchi began, choosing his words carefully, “I closed my eyes, but when I opened them I was on the other side of the road. Then a few moments later the same car came travelling down the street, and I either think I’m insane or some force-” _Tsukki_ , he thought, “-is intervening and saving me.” he explained, but avoided saying anything directly about Tsukki yet. Hinata nodded slowly, as if taking everything in. 

“I believe you.” he stated. Yamaguchi was surprised, as he didn’t think he would believe him.

“Wait, really?” he asked. 

“Yep. It’s not like you to lie, anyway.” Hinata said. Yamaguchi let out a sigh of relief.

“Thanks.” he replied. Hinata paused for a second. He moved his head as if to look behind Yamaguchi. They were currently in the library at their college, but the final bell had gone quite a while ago.

“No need to alarm you, but there’s some guy behind you and he’s been staring at you for about five minutes now.” Hinata said. Yamaguchi froze, then slowly turned around. At the table behind him sat a tall, blond, bespectacled boy that Yamaguchi knew too well. He turned back to Hinata.

“Oh. It’s fine, I-I know him.” he said. Hinata smiled evilly.

“Oooh, is he your..” Hinata leaned close to him, “ _boyfriend?”_ he teased. Yamaguchi shook his head.

“N-No, just someone I know for other reasons.” he stuttered. He turned to Tsukishima again, who hadn’t moved from the position he was in before. But then Tsukishima slowly lifted one of his hands, and moves his fingers in - what looked like - a circle pattern, then flicked all his fingers outwards. Suddenly, everything paused. Yamaguchi turned back to Hinata, who was frozen in place. The couple who were walking past them were still, and everything had stopped. Except for him and Tsukishima. Yamaguchi slowly got up from the seat and walked toward Tsukishima, who was smirking.

“What did you just do?” Yamaguchi asked.

“What does it look like? I paused time.” Tsukishima replied blatantly.

“Wha- How?” Yamaguchi asked in astonishment.

“You do you remember I’m a witch, right?” Tsukishima asked. Yamaguchi sighed.

“Of course, but can you do anything else?” he asked before he could stop himself.

“Yeah. Let me explain something to you. Each witch has their own Power Selection, which are powers that are all related. For example, a witch I know has the Power Selection of _space_. It allows him to transfer objects through space, teleport, and more. I have the Power Selection of _time_ which allows me to manipulate time. Freeze it, speed it up and.. time travel, you could say.” Tsukishima explained. Yamaguchi’s eyes widened and glistened in excitement.

“That’s so cool, Tsukki!” he shouted excitedly. Tsukishima seemed slightly confused at this reaction.

“What’s so cool about it?” he retorted.

“Time travelling, freezing time, what’s not awesome about that!” Yamaguchi exclaimed. Then he realised something. It made his excitement fizzle away. “Wait, so this morning, when I almost got hit by that car, you paused time, brought me across the road, went back in time to a few seconds ago, then played time again?” he asked. Tsukishima nodded.

“You got it.” he said.

“But what about if there was another witch with the same Power Selection as you, and they kept messing with the time?” Yamaguchi asked. Tsukishima avoided eye contact.

“I’d rather not talk about that.” he uttered. Yamaguchi felt like he shouldn’t push any further, so he attempted to change the subject.

“What other Power Selections are there?” he questioned. Tsukishima shrugged.

“We don’t usually share what our Power Selections are. I do know someone with _sense_ where you can basically sense anything. He can sense whoever is near him, when something bad will happen, when something good will happen, et cetera.” he explained.

“So, kinda like predicting the future?” Yamaguchi asked.

“I wouldn’t say that.” Tsukishima replied, looking down toward a watch he had on his left wrist, “I’m sorry, but I can’t talk for any longer.” he stated. Yamaguchi had so many questions, but didn’t push it. Tsukishima repeated the weird hand-circle-flick thing and everything returned to normal. The couple from earlier continued walking, and the soft noises of the library continued.

“Bye, Tsukki!” Yamaguchi said, and the blond sighed and walked away.

“Yamaguchi, what are you doing?” someone shouted. Yamaguchi turned back and saw Hinata, looking confused.

“Oh, nothing. I.. I was just stretching.” Yamaguchi lied, and he sat back down with Hinata.

“That was so weird. You were just here talking to me, and I felt dizzy for a second so I closed my eyes and when I opened my eyes you were suddenly over there talking to someone.” Hinata said, voicing his thoughts aloud.

“O-Oh really, that’s weird.” Yamaguchi said, trying to keep his lie sounding true.

**-x-**

“I knew you were here.” said a gentle voice from behind the blond. He turned around to see a witch he hadn’t seen in quite a while.

“Hello, Sugawara.” he replied, his voice monotonous. “Of course you knew I was here. Your Power Selection is _sense_ , obviously.” Sugawara laughed gently.

“True. Anyway, why are you here in the first place? I can tell you’ve been talking to someone.” he said. Tsukishima groaned quietly.

 “I’m just.. looking around.” he lied. It was useless lying to Sugawara in the first place - as he could sense whether he was lying - but he still did it.

“I know you’re lying.” Sugawara stated.

“Fine. There was someone here who I wanted to talk to.” Tsukishima admitted.

“Really? I haven’t been able to sense any other witches around here lately- wait, you didn’t talk to a human, did you?” he asked. Tsukishima didn’t say anything. “Oh _no,_ Tsukishima. You know you’re not supposed to!” Sugawara groaned, talking like a mother.

“I have my own reasons.” Tsukishima said. He knew that Sugawara wouldn’t stay mad for long, so no need to make an argument.

“Fine, I won’t ask questions about that. But a different question, why did you choose Tsukishima Kei as your name substitute? Surely you could’ve chose something better.” Sugawara asked.

“It’s because _Tsuki_ means moon and that sounded cool. I added the other things because it sounded nice.” Tsukishima explained. Sugawara laughed gently.

”What do you know about sounding nice?” he said. Tsukishima almost laughed at Suga’s attempt at sarcasm.

"Also, do you still have that medallion?" Sugawara asked. Tsukishima shrugged.

“I guess not.” he replied, feeling no need to lie. Sugawara sighed.

“Will you ever stop being so vague?” he asked, “if you don’t have it, he won’t be happy.” he said. Tsukishima nodded. 

“I know, but I can’t really take it right now. It’s been Marked.” he said.

“By what? A witch? An angel? Those will go away soon, don’t worry.”

“Not exactly.”

“Then what was it?”

“A human.” 

_“Tsukishima.”_

Suga wanted to groan loudly, but it might show his presence to the few humans around them. “There’s one way to get rid of a human Marking, and I don’t know if we should go that far. Depending on your relationship with that human.”

“It’s nothing special.” Tsukishima replied, then Sugawara smiled. “anyway, there hasn’t been a Touch of Demise on a human in a about decade or so. It’s not like I’m gonna use one just to make _him_ happy.” Tsukishima remarked.

“I wouldn’t either, but you know him,” Sugawara said, “just leave the medallion with whoever it was with, and I’ll make arrangements to see if we can Cleanse it, alright?” Sugawara suggested. _No way they’re gonna be able to Cleanse that medallion while Yamaguchi’s got his hands on it. Cleansing is basically used to get lesser being’s Marking’s off objects, and you need at least one higher-ranked witch to do it. No way it’s going to work for a human’s Marking. Especially not one as strong as Yamaguchi’s._ Tsukishima thought to himself.

“Fine, go ahead and do what you want. I have to go.” he said. Sugawara nodded.

“Sure. See you around, I guess?” he asked.

“Whatever.” Tsukishima replied. Sugawara walked somewhere else, while Tsukishima left through the door. He sighed, and clicked his fingers. He heard a familiar voice coming from inside the library, getting closer. Yamaguchi opened the door, his orange-haired friend walking beside him.

“But wouldn’t it be awesome?!” the shorter boy asked.

“I guess, but I mean it’s also physically impossible.” Yamaguchi replied, and they walked right past Tsukishima, as if not even realising he was there.

In their eyes he wasn’t, anyway.

**-x-**

_A few minutes earlier._

“I would wish that I could jump a metre higher than the net, so I could easily block and spike!” Hinata exclaimed. He was explaining what his three wishes would be if he met a genie. The made their way through the library, beginning their walks home. 

“Sure.” Yamaguchi said, but his mind was somewhere else. They walk through the door.

“But wouldn’t it be awesome?!” Hinata asked.

“I guess, but I mean it’s also physically impossible.” Yamaguchi replied. Suddenly he felt a wave of dizziness wash through him, and then an uneasy feeling set in his chest. He had to physically stop walking to recollect himself.

“You alright?” Hinata asked. Yamaguchi nodded, brushing it off.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” he reassured him. He felt as if there was something watching his every move and he was scared to continue walking, but he stayed silent about it.

Tsukishima almost laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everyone, I've introduced a whole new concept in this story, so I hope it all makes sense.  
> I also hope you are enjoying this story! because I love writing it, and if you like it, it encourages me to write even more ^-^


	3. light

“I’ve already apologised multiple times. It wasn’t even my fault.” Sugawara stated to the brown-haired male in front of him.

“Yeah, but you know I’m just his replacement. Ugh, being a replacement for someone who’s younger than you is _so_ degrading.” he replied.

“At least he would try and do something about it.” Sugawara said. The other witch rolled his eyes, laughing.

“Believe me, he definitely would not,” he said, “it’s lucky that this happened while I was in charge. He would not have been happy.” he finished. Sugawara sighed.

“Fine, I guess. Also, relating to that, I need to organise a Cleansing,” he said, “we’re gonna try and get rid of the human’s Marking from it.” he explained. The brown-haired witch groaned and flopped onto the chair he was on.

“You _know_ it’s not going to work,” he responded, and Sugawara nodded, “but you’re gonna try anyway?” he asked. Sugawara nodded again. “We can’t risk letting him know, we’re trying our best to hide it.” he explained.

“This is all Tsukishima’s fault. If he hadn’t-” the other witch began, but was abruptly cut off.

“Don’t you go blaming everything on Tsukishima,” Sugawara said, and he turned on his heel to leave, “you’ve done enough wrongdoings yourself, Oikawa Tooru.” he declared and left the room. Oikawa smiled at himself. He then looked up to the roof, smiling more. 

“I guess I have.”

**-x-**

Yamaguchi was walking home, making sure to look up and down the road every time. He wasn’t going to risk almost being hit by a car.

Again.

He continued walking home, and he turned onto the street his unit was on.

He suddenly felt someone tap his shoulder, and he instinctively turned. It was someone he’d never seen before. It was a boy with brown hair and eyes the same shade. He was a few inches taller than him, but not as tall as Tsukki.

“Hey, this needs to be quick. You’re Yamaguchi Tadashi, right?” he said. Yamaguchi nodded slowly. He’d barely even had time to think about the boy in general. When he’d originally entered the street, the boy wasn’t there. _He must be really fast or something_ , he thought.

“Okay, where’s the medallion?” the boy asked. Yamaguchi stared at him in confusion.

“The.. what?” he asked.

 “You know, the jewellery thing that is on a chain, with those etchings on each side of it..” the boy tried to explain.

“Oh, the pendant?” Yamaguchi asked. The male nodded.

“Can I have it?” he replied. Yamaguchi knew exactly where it was, but he wasn’t willing to give it up just yet. It was in his book bag, in a small pocket on the inside. He’d brought it to class just in case he got bored and wanted to study it. Though he didn’t end up doing that, as his mind had been preoccupied the whole day, anyway.

“No..?” he said, but it seemed more of a question. The brown-haired male sighed.

“I didn’t want to have to do this..” he trailed off. He lifted his arm into the air, and he stared Yamaguchi straight into the eyes. He suddenly felt light-headed, and he felt his knees buckle beneath him. He collapsed, but he vaguely felt arms underneath him, breaking his fall. His vision filled with black spots, and he couldn’t see clearly. Even through his horrible vision, he could see the brown-haired male glaring at the person holding him. He felt himself slip out of consciousness, and he distantly heard someone repeating his name.

**-x-**

Yamaguchi came back to reality but kept his eyes closed. He felt his couch underneath him. He tried to remember exactly what happened, but he couldn’t. All he remembered was seeing a boy with brown hair and eyes. Suddenly he remembered the pendant. _That boy wanted something to do with my- the pendant,_ he thought. He opened his eyes and sat up in a panic, about to search for his bag. Instead he bumped heads with someone. His vision cleared and he realised he’d just head butted a witch.

“Sorry Tsukki!” he exclaimed. Tsukishima sat back on the coffee table.

“Do you know what just happened?” he asked. Yamaguchi shook his head.

“Some boy asked about the pendant thing. But he called it a medallion. That’s all I remember.” he tried to explain.  “That was Oikawa Tooru. He’s another witch. I’m not quite sure what his Power Selection is but - from what just happened - it has something to do with the body,” Tsukishima said, “because he just caused you to pass out for no reason.”

“Oh. So he could control what my body does? Like, tell it what to do?” Yamaguchi asked.

“No, not exactly. I think the first part’s correct, but the second is an entirely different Power Selection.” Tsukishima said.

“Wait, how did I get here? And how did you know what just happened?” Yamaguchi asked.

“You felt someone catch you, right? That was me. I also stopped him from getting the pendant from you. Who knows why he needs it.” Tsukishima explained. He seemed to completely brush over the fact it was him who saved Yamaguchi, only mentioning it once. Yamaguchi couldn’t help but smile.

“Thanks for saving me. Again.” he said.

“I didn’t really save you. I just stopped that witch from taking something that wasn’t his.” Tsukishima replied, avoiding eye contact completely. Yamaguchi rested his head back on his couch, thinking.

“Well, I’m going.” Tsukishima announced, standing up. Yamaguchi didn’t really want him to leave, but didn’t say say anything.

“Bye Tsukki!” he shouted, though it didn’t sound too happy as he was almost asleep again. He turned his head to watch Tsukishima leave through the door. The door slammed closed, making him jump a bit. He sighed and turned to face the roof. He was just about to close his eyes when he heard a noise. It sounded almost like a football being hit, but louder. 

A lot louder.

And it was coming from his front yard.

He quickly got up and dizziness rolled through him.

He looked out his front window and saw something he’d never think he’d see.

There was bright lights everywhere, and a lot of shouting.

A blond and a brunet were battling it out, but not physically.

They were moving their arms in many directions, casting light and sound from their fingertips that lit up the night around them. Yamaguchi stood, mesmerised. He knew both the people fighting.

The lights coming from Tsukki’s fingers was a dark grey, almost black. He shouted things and was moving around the yard impossibly fast. One minute he was next to the mailbox, next the was right next to his opponent.

Oikawa on the other hand, was letting out small bursts of aqua light from his fingertips. He was smiling in an annoying way, as if making fun of Tsukki for fighting him. Oikawa was casually walking away when he was aiming those light beams at him, and laughed whenever he missed. Yamaguchi was suddenly mad at Oikawa for making light of the fight. He suddenly felt the urge to go out and help Tsukishima win, but then he realised that he couldn’t help in any way, shape or form. They were two witches battling it out on his front yard. 

And they kept destroying everything. There were bit of grass everywhere. Yamaguchi was so distracted that he didn’t realise when something major happened.

Tsukishima had suddenly collapsed, and Oikawa was laughing. Yamaguchi stared in horror as Oikawa stood next to Tsukishima, smiling. He kicked Tsukishima in the side, but Tsukishima didn’t seem to care too much. Yamaguchi had had enough.

He quickly opened his door, and Oikawa turned toward him.

“Don’t worry, he’s not dead,” he teased, “yet.” he added. Yamaguchi felt his heart drop in his chest. Yamaguchi hadn’t known Tsukki that long - barely even two weeks - yet he felt a connection with him that he’d never felt with anyone else. And with some person threatening to kill him, filled him with anger, anxiety and dread. He knew for a fact that he wasn’t strong enough to fight Oikawa, but he’d rather stop Tsukki from getting hurt. He slowly walked toward him.

“D-Don’t touch him.” Yamaguchi said, trying his best to be intimating. But the obvious stutter in his voice ruined idea that instantly. Oikawa laughed, making Yamaguchi more angry. Oikawa kicked Tsukishima, and he grunted with pain. Yamaguchi felt his heart stop in his chest for a second.

“Yamaguchi. Get away from him.” he heard Tsukishima mumble. Oikawa glared down at him.

“It’s fine, Tsukishima. I don’t plan on hurting him right now. I have to wait until you’re dead to do that.” he teased. Yamaguchi took a few steps back instinctively. Oikawa’s back was now to Tsukishima, as he wasn’t worried about him. But, while Oikawa was distracted talking, Tsukishima slowly sat up. Tsukishima made eye contact with Yamaguchi, attempting what seemed like a smile. Yamaguchi smiled back, sighing with relief.

“Do you really think,” Tsukishima began, standing up, “I’m _that_ weak?” he asked. Oikawa turned around to see Tsukishima standing up at his full height. Tsukishima lifted his arm, moving his fingers in a circle pattern and flicking his fingers outwards. Everything paused.

“Yamaguchi, get out.” he ordered.  “No. If you get hurt, who’s gonna help you?” Yamaguchi asked.

“Yamaguchi. I don’t have much time. He’s aware I’ve paused time. I am currently battling another witch, who is much stronger than me. I could die at any moment. Yamaguchi, get inside your house and don’t look out.” Tsukishima stated. Yamaguchi nodded nervously and retreated back into his unit. He closed the door behind him, and heard the battle restart. 

He was worried for Tsukishima. He was also worried for anyone else who looked out of their house right now. _Would they be visible to them?_ He asked himself. He sat at his couch, nervously tapping his hands on his knee. Suddenly the noises of the battle stopped. Yamaguchi got up instantly, but questioned whether he should go out yet. He heard some shouting from a voice he couldn’t recognise. Yamaguchi decided to look through the window instead. There was indeed someone he didn’t recognise there. He had pitch black hair and stood slightly shorter than the two witches outside. Oikawa seemed to be staying silent. Tsukishima seemed to be challenging the black-haired male, and he didn’t seem too happy.

Yamaguchi stared at Tsukishima, admiring the way he was acting. He seemed so standoffish, yet showed so much expression.

Maybe that was only in Yamaguchi’s eyes.

When he turned back to assess the scene fully, he noticed that a grey-haired male had appeared, and was moving to physically hold back Tsukishima. Oikawa seemed to be teasing him, and the black haired boy was standing back, glaring at him. Yamaguchi opened his window slightly, just so he could hear what they were saying.

“-you don’t _shut up_.” Tsukishima was saying. Oikawa laughed.

“It’s not like I would do it.” he said. Tsukishima scowled.

“You were threatening it before.” he growled.

“Calm down, please.” the grey-haired male said.

“Sugawara, stay out of this.” Oikawa stated. Sugawara mumbled something under his breath.

“ _Excuse_ me?” Oikawa growled, yet still had a light tone to his voice. Somehow.

“He said-” Tsukishima began, though he was interrupted.

“Can’t all of you just stop this pointless argument?” the black haired male sighed. 

“S-Sorry.” stuttered Sugawara. Oikawa snickered.

“I took over your position, I shouldn’t have to take orders from you.” he stated. The black-haired boy glowered at him.

“I’m back now. You don’t have my position anymore,” he replied, “anyway, back to the original topic. Tsukishima, it’s your fault, so you’ll have to do it.” he declared. Tsukishima looked away.

“I’ve told you so many times. I will not do it. I.. I _can’t_ do it.” he said, almost nervously.

 _That is_ very _unlike Tsukki_ , Yamaguchi thought. He instantly knew something was wrong.

“You’re the only person who has the courage to do the Touch of Demise. Anyway, you were the most recent person to do one.” the black-haired male retorted.

“That was almost a decade ago.” Tsukishima responded flatly. He glanced at the house to see Yamaguchi watching out. Yamaguchi quickly closed the window and ducked down, hoping they didn’t see him. He stayed there for a minute, then quickly looked back outside. No one was there.

If fact, there was almost nothing to prove they were there in the first place.

Apart from one thing.

In the ground, it seemed like there was a small imprinting. It was almost dark, so he couldn’t be sure. Yamaguchi tentatively opened his door and walked outside. It was dark, so he used the torch on his phone to light his way.  He almost completely walked past it. He ducked down, shining his light onto the pattern. It was almost a drawing on the dirt. Yamaguchi hesitantly put his hand on it. He yanked his hand back in pain, as the mark had somehow burned his hand. He placed his phone down so he could cradle his injured fingers in the other hand.

The night had a chill to it, so he used that to cool his fingers. He picked his phone back up and shined it directly to the pattern. He had to look at it at a few different angles until he saw the picture clearly.

It was a crown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the rushed chapter guys ;-;  
> I have so much other work to do but I really wanted to write this chapter so I hope this suffices lmao  
> As always, thank you very much for reading ^-^


	4. the king

Thoughts raced through Yamaguchi’s head that night. He laid in his bed, facing the roof in the darkness. He barely heard his phone buzz, but he ignored it. He was mildly confused at what had just happened. _Was Tsukki okay?_ He asked himself. He ran his hand through his hair in annoyance. _Who were all those people? I know Tsukki and that other guy, Oikawa, but who was the grey-haired guy - I think his name was Suga..something? - and the black-haired guy? Were they witches too? What are their Power Selections? Why is this seemingly all connected to me?_ He thought, and he heard a buzzing. He blindly stretched towards his phone, which was vibrating intensely. Either someone was calling, or someone was messaging in rapid succession. He pushed the power button, and he squinted at the light. Once his eyes had adjusted his checked the time. It was 12:09 AM, and he had two missed calls and a message from an unknown number. He also had a message from Hinata. He checked Hinata’s message first.

 **From - Hinata ^-^**  
**12:02 AM**  
_holy guacamole something rlly rlly cool just happened a few hours ago but I forgot to tell you!!!! i know its late but pls reply as soon as possible!!!!!!_

Hinata had a habit of using a few too many exclamation points and not typing well, and Yamaguchi laughed quietly.

 **To - Hinata ^-^**  
**12:10 AM**  
_Thanks for waking me. But what were you gonna say?_

He hit send. The bit about Hinata waking him was a lie, but he needed a way to start the message. Then he checked the message from the unknown number.

 **From - Unknown**  
**12:08 AM**  
_good luck_  
_don’t let me get my hands on that medallion, otherwise you’ll be in trouble_

The ominousness of the message sent shivers through him. His heart started beating faster when he realised he hadn’t seen the pendant all day. He sat up quickly, wiping sleep out of his eyes. Using his phone as a torch, he walked to the lounge area. He shined his light on the coffee table, and there it was. The pendant was sitting there, untouched by other’s hands. Yamaguchi bent down and picked it up. It was warm, as if it had been sitting in the sun all day. He brought it to his room. He sat back down on his bed and turned on his bedside lamp. He studied the pendant, like he’d done many times before.

His phone started vibrating again, and he glanced to it. It was another unknown number, but it was different to the previous one. He picked up his phone and clicked accept. “Hello?” he asked.

“Yamaguchi, it’s me.” said a stoic voice on the other end.

“Um.. who’s ‘me’?” Yamaguchi replied, unsure who it was. And why there were calling at midnight.

“It’s Tsukishima Kei. It’s kind of urgent. You know Oikawa Tooru, the one I was.. fighting before?” Tsukishima explained from the other end of the line. Yamaguchi sighed in relief, both because he knew who it was and - more importantly - that Tsukki was okay. “Yamaguchi, are you even listening?” Tsukishima asked.

“Ah! Yes.” Yamaguchi replied.

“Alright, I’ll be over in a minute or two.” Tsukishima finalised, then the ‘click’ of a phone signalled the end of their conversation. Yamaguchi sat in shock, realising what Tsukki had just said. _Okay, he’s coming over apparently. Why did I get so distracted?_ He thought to himself. He then heard his doorbell ring throughout his usually quiet house, which caused him to jump. He quickly got up, switching on the lights along the way. They hurt his eyes, but he didn’t care. He opened the front door, and it revealed Tsukishima.

“Hello.” he said, slightly awkwardly. Yamaguchi suddenly realised he wasn’t exactly.. wearing a shirt. He noticed Tsukishima glancing him up and down. Yamaguchi blushed, a deep red filling his face.

He quickly grabbed his jacket from his coat rack and threw it on.

“H-Hey Tsukki,” he stuttered. Tsukishima smirked, sighed and walked right past him. Yamaguchi closed the door, and turned to see Tsukishima relaxing on his couch. “um.. what did you come here for again?” Yamaguchi asked.

“I already told you. Oikawa is trying to get the pendant from you, and when you're sleeping you're most vulnerable, so I’m here to protect you from him.” Tsukishima explained boredly, as if he didn’t want to be here.

“Don’t you.. um.. need to sleep?” Yamaguchi asked, slightly embarrassed.

“Not really. Just every now and then. Now isn’t one of those times,” Tsukishima replied, “you can go off to bed now. I’ll just be here in case Oikawa decides to come here. I’ll look after the pendant for you.” he explained. He lifted the pendant and spun it around his fingers until the chain wrapped them close together. The signature move. _Wait, how did he get the pendant? Wasn’t it just in my room?_ Yamaguchi thought, then he blushed. 

“I can’t sleep knowing you’re just sitting in my living room!” he exclaimed sheepishly.

“Well then, try to forget I’m here.” Tsukishima replied simply, looking at the pendant in his hand. Yamaguchi sighed and walked back to his room, closing the door. He took the jacket off, dropping it to the ground. He flopped back onto his bed. He returned to his brilliant hobby of staring at the ceiling, mind flooding with questions. _Why didn’t I listen when Tsukishima was talking to me on the phone? I could have grasped what was actually happening. I could have-_ his thoughts were cut off but he phone vibrating, yet again. He groaned loudly in annoyance, then picked it up from his bedside table.

 **From - Hinata ^-^**  
**12:23 AM**  
_so i was just relaxing (it was at 7 or something)  
then my doorbell rings so i get up and then i see this guy!!! i recognised him from school because i talked to him a few times, but he is hardly there and he’s kinda odd but whatever!!! he started talking to me abt you so i answered him but then he said that i looked cute when i was sleepy!!!!!!! not gonna lie he was pretty attractive too!!!!!!! he told me his name but i cant remember what it was but he said he was gonna talk to me later!!!!!!!!!_

And that message sent alarm bell ringing throughout Yamaguchi’s mind. Not only did this seem incredibly suspicious, but Hinata didn't seem to care in the slightest. _Maybe I’m just overthinking things,_ Yamaguchi thought.

Nevertheless, one of the phrases really stuck out to Yamaguchi.

“ _he started talking to me abt you so i answered him_ ”

_First, this random - apparently attractive - guy comes to Hinata’s door, asks him questions about me, then Tsukishima rocks up to my place and is apparently staying over for the night._

Yamaguchi let out a sigh. He pulled his covers over his head and tried to get some sleep for once. Though his mind was plagued with questions, sleep overtook him.

**-x-**

When Yamaguchi woke up, he could swear he could feel someone next to him.

He blinked a few times, and turned his head to face the other side of his bed. He spotted a cluster of blond hair on the pillow next to him. The person next to him was facing him, eyes closed in a deep sleep. His hand was outstretched next to Yamaguchi’s, which was just in front on him. It looked as if he was reaching for it before he fell asleep. Yamaguchi froze.

Tsukishima’s face was barely inches from his.

Yamaguchi held his breath, not knowing what to do. Part of him wanted to just grab Tsukki’s hand and fall asleep again, side by side.

_Wait, no. What am I thinking? I don’t like Tsukki like that way, do I?_

Yamaguchi glanced back toward him, taking in his features which were normally scowling or smirking. Now they were relaxed, an almost peaceful look settled on his face. 

Yamaguchi stared at him for a while, a million thoughts filling his head as he finally realised. 

_I definitely do._

**-x-**

Yamaguchi didn’t remember falling back asleep, but he had.

When he’d woken up, there was no trace of Tsukishima in his bed. Maybe that had been some odd, too realistic, dream. He got up, and changed into a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. 

He attempted to flatten his hair, but to no avail. He left his room and jumped when he saw Tsukishima sitting on his couch. He knew he was here, but after that.. dream?.. just being in Tsukishima’s presence made him on edge. In many different ways.

He shook his head to clear it of all thoughts.

“Hey Tsukki!” he greeted.

 “Morning.” Tsukishima replied nonchalantly. Yamaguchi didn’t know what to do. This witch was just in his house, not caring. Yamaguchi sighed, then proceeded to make himself a cup of coffee.

“When you’re done with that, I need to talk to you.” Tsukishima said. Yamaguchi froze for a second, then sat down on the chair near the couch. “You know how I was talking about Oikawa?” he asked. Yamaguchi nodded. “You know he’s trying to get the pendant from you, right?” Another nod. “He’s getting it for another witch. This particular witch is.. not happy about the fact you are currently in possession of something that’s his.” Tsukishima explained. Yamaguchi could gather all that himself, considering the fight in his yard yesterday. “So, give me the pendant.”

That request made Yamaguchi uneasy.

First of all, that didn’t sound anything like what he would say.

“Why?” he replied. 

“Please, just give it to me.” 

_Now he’s being way too polite. I’m incredibly unnerved._

“Tsukki. Why can’t you tell me why?” Yamaguchi asked. Tsukishima took a deep breath in.

“Fine. The pendant belongs to a witch, who I will only refer to as King. He’s an arrogant, selfish little prick who will do anything to get what he wants. Especially being manipulative. He’d do anything to get that back, including killing people.” Tsukishima explained.

“What would happen if I don’t give it back?” Yamaguchi asked.

“I’d rather not talk about it. Why are you so attached to it, anyway? You could easily give it back, and it would not hinder you in any way.” Tsukishima questioned.

“You have your secrets. I have mine.” Yamaguchi replied, though his heart was beating a thousand miles an hour.

“Fine.” Tsukishima responded, seeming slightly annoyed at Yamaguchi’s reply. Yamaguchi was about to reply, when his phone buzzed. He took it from his pocket.

 **From - Hinata ^-^**  
**7:31 AM**  
_sorry for waking you up last night but I just got a message from the person last night!!!! (yes I gave him my number because he’s rlly cute)_  
_since he goes to our school, he’s meeting me at the station today before I go to your house this morning so you can meet him!!!!!!_

Yamaguchi sighed, and Tsukishima glanced up to him. Yamaguchi avoided eye contact. He had forgot that today they had a presentation and they were going to school early together to prepare. And Tsukki just has to come over today.

 **To - Hinata ^-^**  
**7:32 AM**  
_Sure, see you then._

He clicks send and places his phone on the table.

“Who was that?” Tsukishima asked.

"O-Oh. My friend Hinata. I’m walking to school with him and he’s coming here with a..” Yamaguchi trailed off, “..friend. So just uh.. you can..” he left off. He didn’t know what to do. He realised if Hinata saw Tsukki here this early, he would think they were dating, because of their conversation about him yesterday. 

“Oh, they’ll just ignore me. It would be like I’m not here.” Tsukishima replied, with both a serious and a joking tone in his voice. As if what he was said was the truth, but it sounded stupid. Like he’d really be invisible.

_I wouldn’t put it past him, as he’s literally a witch._

Yamaguchi was going to reply, when the doorbell rang. He groaned and got up. He opened the door and it revealed Hinata, with someone behind him. He had black hair, and dark blue eyes. Yamaguchi felt like he recognised him from somewhere. _Probably from school._

“Hey Hinata!” he greeted cheerfully. 

“Hey!” Hinata replied back, inviting himself and his acquaintance in. Yamaguchi heard Tsukki get up, and he turned. Tsukki was standing, scowling at the person Hinata had just walked in with.

“What are you doing here?” the black-haired male growled. Tsukishima glared daggers at him.

“I could say the exact same for you, _King.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oOoOoOh what a shock no one saw that coming  
> also yeah this is kinda of a filler chapter, but I promise next chapter will have more action and not boring stuff like this  
> but thanks again everyone for reading, I really appreciate it ^-^


	5. connecting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for the nice comments and all the kudos!  
> so, enjoy this chapter ^-^

“You know each other?” Yamaguchi asked. They both stared at him.

“Sadly, we do.” Tsukishima replied. 

“Annoyingly, yes, I do know this jerk.” the ‘King’ spat, glaring back at Tsukishima. Hinata let out a nervous laugh.

"Um, Yamaguchi and.. you blond guy. If you want, I can just leave with Kageyama here-” he began, but was cut off.

“No, it’s fine. You two go off to college or whatever. I’ll just go outside and have a talk with the King.” Tsukishima replied, and the black haired ‘King’ - whose name was Kageyama, apparently - snarled, but nodded.

“Okay then.” Yamaguchi replied, and picked his bag from the door. He opened the door, and felt incredibly awkward holding the door for the three others. When they were all out, Yamaguchi locked it. 

“Let’s go then, Yamaguchi.” Hinata said. Yamaguchi nodded, and turned to where the two others were.

Were.

They had disappeared completely, nothing to show they were there.

“Where did they go?” He asked.

“Didn’t you see them walk off?” Hinata asked, and Yamaguchi shook his head, “Whatever, let’s go.” Hinata stated. They walked together, Hinata explaining what they were to do as soon as they got there to prepare. Yamaguchi tried his best to listen, but couldn’t seem to concentrate, as his mind was somewhere else.

 _Why do I recognise that guy from somewhere? And why does ‘King’ ring a bell? I swear I have seen or heard that name somewhere before. I swear I’ve seen him before. The black hair, the dark blue eyes. He_ did _have a kingly aura to him, like he should be wearing a crown upon his head._

_Wait, a crown._

_Where have I seen a crown before, recently?_

Yamaguchi racked his memory for a crown. It suddenly hit him, causing him to physically stop walking as it all pieced together. He heard Hinata stop speaking, but it barely registered. 

_That’s it! Last night, the crown etched into the ground! I saw the black haired guy last night too! He’s also a witch! Tsukki didn’t seem to like him last night, that’s why he was angry at him today, too!_

“Earth to Yamaguchi.” Hinata stated.

“Yeah! Sorry, got lost in thought.” Yamaguchi replied, and it was true. They continued to walk.

**-x-**

“That was probably one of the most nerve-wracking things I’ve _ever_ done in my life.” Hinata stated. They’d just finished their presentation and, in all honesty, Yamaguchi was pretty proud of it. It was a break now, as they both had a free period. Yamaguchi had been mostly thinking about the ‘King’, and the possibility of him being a witch. 

“Hey Hinata?” he said.

“Hm?” Hinata replied.

“You know.. Tsukishima…” that name still sounded odd to say, “right?” Yamaguchi asked, but Hinata shook his head, “the guy who was with me before. Tall, wearing glasses..”

“Oh, him! Kageyama doesn’t like him. I wonder why.” Hinata exclaimed.

“Yeah, I wonder too,” Yamaguchi replied, “but, I was just wondering, do you believe in witches, and you know.. other mythical things..?” he asked. Hinata paused for a second, then nodded.

“Yep! Now that you mention it, I kinda wanted to say something.. it’s kinda on that topic.” Hinata replied. Yamaguchi nodded, suddenly listening very intently.

“Kageyama is a bit strange. Sometimes he’ll just appear, then disappear. He’ll say things, but they don’t make sense. He’d mutter things like ‘power selection’ or ‘cleanse’ and I don’t know what they mean. He’s odd, but I still like him. As a friend, I mean.” Hinata explained, “but he never seemed.. oh wow how do I say this.. like a human. Oh God, that sounds so weird! Yamaguchi, please get what I mean!” Hinata exclaimed in defeat. Yamaguchi nodded enthusiastically.

“That’s what I mean! And I know what a Power Selection is, I just don’t know if I’m allowed to tell you..” he trailed off. Hinata gave Yamaguchi what looked like an attempt at puppy-dog eyes. Yamaguchi sighed. “Fine, but I’ll have to tell you the whole story for it to make sense. Promise you won’t tell anyone?” he asked. _I feel like a preteen admitting their crush on someone. Well.. kinda is._ Yamaguchi thought. Hinata nodded.

“The truth is, Tsukki- I mean, Tsukishima’s a witch. He came to me after I stole this.” Yamaguchi explained, and pulled the pendant from his book bag. The small spots of brown on it were still there, but they seemed to be fading. The etchings on either side were still visible, and the white colour hadn’t faded. But something struck him as odd. Now, the etchings seemed to be.. pictures? He could make out a few faces, and.. a crown.

It all came back to that. 

“Can I hold it?” Hinata asked. Yamaguchi thought for a minute, before shaking his head.

“I’ll explain in a minute. So, I stole this and then Tsukki showed up. He said that it’s important to a certain someone, and that now that I had it that certain someone was not happy. Tsukki told me his name, why can’t I remember? Anyway, I have my Marking on it - oh yeah a Marking is an imprint a being leaves when it touches a witch’s object - so now Tsukki has to protect me to make sure I’m safe from it.” Yamaguchi explained. Hinata seemed confused at first, taking in all this information.

“Sure! That makes sense. That also explains why Kageyama keeps appearing and disappearing. He must be a witch too! Wait, you didn’t tell me what a Power Selection was.” Hinata stated.

“I was getting to that. A Power Selection is a group of powers that witches have that are all related in some way. I don’t know what Kageyama would be talking about those, though. Well, he may be a witch, so…” Yamaguchi trailed off.

“Okay, that kinda makes sense, I guess,” Hinata replied, “he seemed to want to talk about you a lot this morning. I don’t know why.” he said. But Yamaguchi wasn’t listening. He was coming to a sudden realisation.

“Tsukki said the pendant was owned by the King. The King wasn’t happy about me having the pendant.. Kageyama.. he’s the King..” Yamaguchi thought out loud, “Hinata, you shouldn’t be talking to Kageyama anymore. He wants something I have but I can’t give it to him.” Yamaguchi said in his realisation. “I-I have to go.” he announced, and began running off.

"Yamaguchi?” Hinata shouted. “Where are you going?” 

“I said I have to go!” Yamaguchi called over his shoulder. He had to get back to Tsukki. He was at his house last, but where would he be now? He disappeared with the King earlier, maybe if he just thought that he wanted him, maybe he would appear. Yamaguchi quickly got all his books into his bag, and ran to reception. “I have to go somewhere. I have.. an appointment!” he lied to the bored-looking woman at the desk.

“Sure, go ahead.” she replied in a dull tone. She went back to looking on her phone.

Yamaguchi continued running, heaving his bag back onto his shoulder. He quickly exited his college, and ran down the street. He dug his hand into his pocket, grabbed his phone and clicked the power button. _12:37 PM_ flashed on his screen. He sighed and shoved his phone back into his pocket, still running. But, as soon as he looked up, he knew something bad would happen.

Yamaguchi Tadashi, running as fast as he could, was running directly toward a tree. He wasn’t worried though, he could easily duck out of the way. As the tree was coming up, he ducked. But what he didn’t see was the branch that was right in the middle of the pathway. His foot hooked on the branch, and he stuck his hands out in front of him. He saw the concrete getting closer to his face, and he squeezed his eyes shut. 

And he fell into someone’s arms.

He let out sigh of relief against the person’s chest. He blinked a few times, then opened his eyes fully. He had his arms wrapped around the person, and their hands were around him. Yamaguchi looked up, and he saw golden-brown eyes staring at him behind black framed glasses. His heart raced and he stood up quickly.

“I’m sorry, Tsukki!” he exclaimed. Tsukishima wiped his hands on his shirt, then pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“It’s fine.” he replied. Yamaguchi looked around them for a few seconds.

“Tsukki, I want to talk to you about something important.” he said. Tsukishima looked at him, as if studying him. Yamaguchi felt an inexplicable shiver run through him.

“Sure. Go ahead.” Tsukishima replied.

“What if someone’s around?” Yamaguchi asked, then Tsukishima sighed. He lifted his arm up, moving his fingers in a circle pattern and flicking his fingers outwards. Everything went quiet.

“I’ve paused time, as you can tell. So, quickly say what you wanted to say.” he said.

“You know the King, right? Kageyama, Hinata said his name was.” Yamaguchi said. Tsukishima nodded. “You said the King isn’t happy that I have the pendant. Does that mean.. he’ll hurt me if I don’t give it back?” Yamaguchi asked.

“Yes.” Tsukishima replied blandly. Yamaguchi was shocked for a second, though he knew that that would most likely be the answer. “He’s a sadistic jerk, who will manipulate to get his way. Steer clear of him,” Tsukishima explained, “you won’t give me the pendant, so I have to protect you from him. I’m fine with that, but he’s not. For whatever reason you want to keep that pendant, he isn’t happy about it.” he finished.

“I have one problem though,” Yamaguchi began, and Tsukishima nodded, “he seems to be trying to be good friends with my friend. You know, Hinata? The one he was with before.” Yamaguchi stated.

 “Yes. This happens with him.” Tsukishima paused, looking around, as if to make sure Kageyama wasn’t watching. “That pendant has fallen into many different people’s hands. Yet, not many have taken it for as long as you have. Many people have barely been able to have it for a few hours, let alone a few days. Usually he would intervene much earlier, and.. dispose of the person who found it.” Those words send shivers down Yamaguchi’s spine, “it’s incredibly odd for someone to be able to own it for as long as you have. He must think highly of you. And that is exactly why he’s gone after one of your friends.” Tsukishima explained. Yamaguchi stood frozen at all this information. He wanted Tsukishima to stop explaining everything, and leave him clueless. But something inside him wanted to know. “Kageyama’s trying to get close to you through your friend. He’s gonna try something he’s rarely tried, but he can only do it if he gets close enough to you. A Touch of Demise.” Tsukishima finished. For some reason, those last four words made Yamaguchi incredibly anxious.

“Wh-What’s a Touch of Demise?” he stuttered out.

“Something that should have never have come into existence. It’s something a witch can use to instantly kill any being. There are certain circumstances.” Tsukishima replied simply. 

“Kageyama wants to kill me? If that’s true, tell me the ‘circumstances’.” Yamaguchi responded, his hands unwillingly shaking.

“Fine then. He’ll hypnotise you, in many different ways. First, manipulation. He’ll get close to someone you care about so much, and then use them against you. The second option is open. But one that could happen, is not one you’d believe.” Tsukishima said, and took a step so he was right in front of Yamaguchi. He dragged his finger across Yamaguchi’s jawline, then stopped at his chin and tilted it so he was staring directly at him. 

Yamaguchi’s heart raced more than before. So many thoughts were racing through his head, and he couldn’t think straight. Not like he was, in the first place.

“He may even hypnotise you in ways you couldn’t imagine.” Tsukishima whispered, and a blush dusted Yamaguchi’s face. He may have been imagining it, but he swore he saw Tsukishima’s face getting closer to his. He closed his eyes, not exactly thinking that this would be how their first kiss together would be. Then he felt Tsukishima’s finger move from his chin, so he opened his eyes.

Of course, Tsukishima had gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I PROMISE YOU ALL IT WILL GET A LOT MORE INTENSE NEXT CHAPTER  
> thank you all so much for reading, and I really appreciate the kudos and comments ^-^


	6. study

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this update took /forever/ to come out! i've had school, so barely any time for writing ;-;
> 
> also warning: near the beginning of this chapter Yamaguchi has a short panic attack, so if you don't want to read it, skip the section with the asterisks.

Yamaguchi groaned, and he looked around. Nope, no sign of him anywhere. _But things are moving again, and the normal sounds are back, so he must have played time again. First he tells me that Kageyama will use my friends against me, and confirms that he literally wants me dead. Then, he disappears._ Yamaguchi thought. _The reason I had left school in the first place was to find Tsukki and explain the Kageyama/King he-wants-me-dead thing, but he found me. Now, I don’t know what to do._ He eventually decided he’d go back home. He checked his phone, which had buzzed during his conversation with Tsukishima, but he hadn’t really cared for it.

 **From - Hinata ^-^ ******  
**12:43 PM**  
_so.. where did u go??? we have to evaluate our partners work and stuff but who cares about that!!!! but anyway kageyama invited me to his place after school - which is in a few minutes since it’s the last day of term and we’re let out at lunch WHICH IS IN SEVEN MINUTES - so yeah (he came and talked to me a few minutes after you left) and we’re gonna study for our maths assessment!!!!! - that's at the start of next term !!!!!!! (it turns out we’re in the same maths class!!!!!!) message me back when you can!!!!!!_

Yamaguchi’s hands shook as he remembered what Tsukishima had said earlier. He typed a quick response.

 **To - Hinata ^-^**  
**12:46 PM**  
_I don’t think you should go to Kageyama’s place. I know he’s up to something._

He knew Hinata would want him to explain on that, but he wouldn’t be able to. He sighed, and continued on his way home. His phone buzzed, and he looked at it.

 **From - Hinata ^-^**  
**12:47 PM**  
_why not???? he’s rlly nice, you've gotta lighten up yamaguchi!!!!!!_

Yamaguchi sighed again, then typed a reply.

 **To - Hinata ^-^**  
**12:47 PM**  
_I’m just saying, I don’t think it’s a good idea. You’ve only known him for a little while, don’t you think it’s odd that he’s inviting you to his place?_

He arrived at his place, and unlocked his door. He got in, and sat on his couch. He checked his phone, to see yet another message from Hinata.

 **From - Hinata ^-^**  
**12:48 PM**  
_Well, I don't rlly care. he’s pretty and.. I really like him ok? At least let me have this and I’ll leave u and ur bf tsuki-whatever alone._

Oh no.

_Hinata didn’t overuse punctuation and he used proper capitalisation and grammar. He’s actually serious._

**To - Hinata ^-^**  
**12:49 PM**  
_Okay then, I trust you. And, Tsukki’s not my boyfriend._

He sent it, but he knew it was wrong. If only he knew a way to call Tsukishima over whenever he needed. It seemed the only time he ever appeared was when Yamaguchi was in trouble, but he wasn’t going to put himself in imminent danger for the chance Tsukishima would appear. _Didn’t he call me that one time?_ He looked through his phone logs, and saw the one from late last night. He pondered for a bit, before hitting call. It rung a few times before someone picked up.

“Hello?” said a voice from the other end. Yamaguchi let out a quiet sigh of relief.

“Tsukki! It’s me!” Yamaguchi exclaimed.

“Oh. Why did you call me?” Tsukishima replied.

“Listen, please. Kageyama invited Hinata to his place. I don’t know what this means.” Yamaguchi explained. There is silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds.

“Yamaguchi. I’ll be over in a minute.” Tsukishima said, then the click on the other end signalled the end of the call.

 *****  
Yamaguchi started panicking, thoughts racing through his head. He tried to calm himself, but nothing helped. Thoughts piled up in his head. _Kageyama’s gonna kill him. He wants me dead, and he’ll manipulate me through killing Hinata._ His mind always had a habit of going to the worst case scenario. He couldn’t stop himself, and tears seemed to fog his vision. He wiped his eyes, but his breathing was still erratic and too fast. He closed his eyes and shook his head to get rid of the thoughts, but to no avail. He became more and more panicky, and his mind was muffled. All the noises outside his thoughts seemed to become blocked out, his mind not hearing the footsteps or a door opening. His closed his eyes again, and took a deep breath in. Nothing seemed to calm him down.  
*****

But suddenly he felt a hand on the side of his neck and his mind cleared. His breathing went back to normal and his heart stopped racing. He opened his eyes slowly, and turned to see who the hand belonged to. His eyes travelled up the slender, pale arm to see who it connected to. His eyes met the gold of Tsukishima’s. He didn’t know what to say, so he stayed quiet.

“You don’t have to worry yourself. Okay, maybe a little bit.” Tsukishima said.

“Tsukki, that doesn’t really help.” Yamaguchi replied. He thought he saw the corner of Tsukishima’s mouth twitch into a smile, but it disappeared as soon as he thought he saw it. 

“I’ll explain to you what’s happening. So first and foremost-” but he was cut off by a bright light illuminating the room. Yamaguchi closed his eyes, and covered them with his hands for good measure. He heard someone slump onto the floor, and he quickly opened his eyes to see who it was. His heart stopped for a second. Tsukishima was lying on the floor, unmoving. Yamaguchi looked around to see who could’ve caused it. He heard a laugh, which for some reason he recognised. When he saw who it was, he was immensely angered.

“Wh-What did you do to Tsukki?” Yamaguchi asked, his voice shaking. He willed himself not to panic.

“Oh, nothing that can’t be undone. Don’t worry about it.” Oikawa replied. Whenever Yamaguchi blinked, all he could see was an aqua-coloured light. Oikawa then stared Yamaguchi down, and he lifted his hand up, pointing his palm up towards the roof. Yamaguchi vaguely remembered someone else doing the same thing, but when?

Suddenly an aqua-coloured light lifted from his hand. It then formed a bright sphere that floated just above his hand. Oikawa glanced to his hand, then back at Yamaguchi. He seemed to be searching him with his eyes. He looked back to the sphere and closed his eyes slowly. Yamaguchi was too afraid to move. The sphere expanded and seemed to turn into smoke. Orange stars, dark-grey shapes and red droplets were splattered across it. Red was mixing with orange, and small specks of pink would merge with dark-grey. Oikawa scowled at it.

“Well, now I can see why Tsukishima doesn’t want to kill you. Why he doesn’t want to leave you.” he snarled.

“What do you mean?” Yamaguchi asked.

“You see those pink dots? How they’re merging with the grey? That’s-” Oikawa began.

“Oikawa, shut up.” Tsukishima mumbled, picking himself up from the ground. 

“Oh, look at that. Tsukishima survived that. Can you stop being so resilient?” Oikawa sighed. Tsukishima stood up to his full height. He stood in front of Yamaguchi, as if protecting him.

“What do you want?” Tsukishima growled.

“Oh, nothing too much. I just want to say, Yamaguchi, your friend is in quite the pickle right now. You don’t have much time.” Oikawa explained casually, as if he wasn’t talking about the possible demise of Yamaguchi’s best friend. Oikawa waved his hand to get rid of the smoke cloud. Yamaguchi started panicking, but he tried his best to calm himself.

“Oikawa. Get out of here. You don’t belong.” Tsukishima stated.

“Geez, calm down, _Tsukki_.” Oikawa teased, using Yamaguchi’s nickname for Tsukishima against him. Tsukishima visibly tensed up.

“ _Leave_.” he scowled dangerously, as if he would most definitely kill him if he didn’t go.

“Fine, even though it’s pretty fun teasing you two.” Oikawa said, then in a flash of aqua light he had gone. Tsukishima turned to Yamaguchi.

“We have to save Hinata,” Yamaguchi said desperately, “do you have any idea where he could be? Like, you know, where Kageyama’s house could be?” he asked.

“I have a vague idea, but I can’t be sure. But you shouldn’t come. You could get injured.” Tsukishima stated. Yamaguchi shook his head.

“Absolutely no way, Tsukki. My friend could be dead-” his own choice of words made him stop speaking. He composed himself, “we need to save Hinata. He’s too oblivious. Kageyama could threaten him with death and he would probably say ‘oh, sure whatever you want, because I really like you!’ or something like that.” Yamaguchi said. He realised that he probably shouldn’t have added that last bit, when Tsukishima looked at him funny.

“I understand what you’re saying. But we can’t risk-” Tsukishima began, but Yamaguchi did something he’d never done before. He completely cut him off.

“No! I have to help you save him. I don’t care about my own safety.” Yamaguchi stated.

“Well I do.” Tsukishima admitted, then held his breath. Yamaguchi didn’t know how to reply. So he just stayed silent.

“Fine. Let’s go.” he said. Yamaguchi nodded. He grabbed his jacket from the chair next to him and put it on. Tsukishima led him out the door. “Okay, I need you to hold my hand for a second.” he stated. Yamaguchi’s face heated up.

“Wh-What?” he asked. Tsukishima sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Just do it.” he said. Yamaguchi’s face went red as he slid his hand into Tsukishima’s. Their fingers entwined, and he honestly didn’t know what to do. He felt like it should be one of those cliché ‘and then their hands fit perfectly together, like they were made for each other’ moment, but Yamaguchi’s hand was sweat-covered from his nerves. Tsukishima made a ‘tch’ noise, but then played it off as if nothing happened. “Okay. Close your eyes.” he stated. Yamaguchi complied, closing his eyes tight. He had no idea what was going to happen, but at this point it didn’t really matter. He was just focused on saving his friend’s life. “So, we’re gonna walk for a bit, but by the time I tell you to open your eyes, we’ll be far from here.” Tsukishima explained. Yamaguchi felt himself being dragged slightly, so he started walking. He just hoped whatever magic transportation this was, was not going to make him smack into a phone line or something just because his eyes were closed. They walked for a few minutes. _Why did it have to be like this? I can’t see anything and Tsukki’s trying to teleport me somewhere. And why did he have to hold my hand?!_ he thought.

“You can open your eyes now.” Tsukishima said, making Yamaguchi jump. He opened his eyes, then blinked a few times to adjust to the light. He remembered his hand was linked to Tsukishima’s so he let go as fast as he could. When his eyes had adjusted fully, a normal-looking house was in front of him.

“Are you sure this is his house? It looks kind of.. normal.. if you know what I’m trying to say..” Yamaguchi commented. Tsukishima looked at him, and tilted his head to the left slightly as if he didn't understand what Yamaguchi was saying.

“What did you expect it to look like?” he responded. Yamaguchi shook his head.

“I-I don’t know. Well, you call him the King and all so I might have expected to just turn up at a mansion or something.” he stated.

"Sure. Whatever. Just follow me.” Tsukishima said, and Yamaguchi nodded. Tsukishima took casual steps towards the house, while Yamaguchi followed him like a lost puppy. Tsukishima didn’t bother to knock or anything, he just pushed open the door. He walked in without caring, but Yamaguchi was incredibly cautious. They walked through the house together, Yamaguchi glancing everywhere in worry.

“Oi, King, are you here?” Tsukishima called, his voice echoing around the house as if it was empty. Yamaguchi’s eyes widened.

“Tsukki! Why did you have to say that that loudly?” he whispered. Tsukishima laughed, not caring that his laughter bounced off the walls and around the house.

“Because I know the King will be here. Him, arrogant as ever, will come when someone calls him.” Tsukishima shouted in mockery. Suddenly his voice dropped to a whisper, “if he comes here, maybe he’d stop doing whatever he could be doing to your friend.” he said. With this sentence, Yamaguchi remembered why they were here in the first place. 

“No, he wouldn’t be doing anything. He’s fine.” he said.

“Oh, really? Weren’t you the one who insisted to come here after finding out what could be happening to your friend?” Tsukishima responded, a smirk appearing on his face.

“S-Sorry. I.. I just wish it wouldn’t happen to him.” Yamaguchi stated, and he thought he saw Tsukishima’s face soften for a second. However, it turned back into the smirk Yamaguchi despised the sight of, yet _loved_ everything about.

Suddenly they both heard footsteps. Worriedly, Yamaguchi looked around. Kageyama appeared from around the corner, making him jump.

"What are you doing here?" Kageyama asked. Tsukishima smiled.

"What do you think?" he retorted.

"We're here to save Hinata." Yamaguchi blurted out. Tsukishima turned to glare at him, he went back to staring down Kageyama.

"What do you mean you want to 'save' him? He's fine. He just came over to study for math class next term. We have a assessment, anyway." He stated casually and then glanced towards Yamaguchi, showing a terrifying smile. Yet, for a second, Yamaguchi wanted to believe him. _Maybe I was wrong. Maybe Tsukki was wrong. This must have just been a misunderstanding_ , he thought. Something deep down told him that someone else may have planting these ideas in his head, yet he didn’t care. His brain felt disconnected to his body, like he wasn’t in control anymore. 

“I’m sorry for bothering you. Tsukki, let’s go.” he said, and bowed slightly at the now-smirking King. That smile was terrifying in it’s own right, so he grabbed Tsukishima’s hand and began to pull him away. “What are you doing, Tsukki? We shouldn’t have interrupted.” Yamaguchi stated. Tsukishima was standing his ground, not letting Yamaguchi move him. Yet, Yamaguchi kept tugging on his arm, not knowing exactly why.

His mind felt distant. He couldn’t stop himself.

“Yamaguchi, he’s playing mind tricks on you. You were right in the first place, we’re here to save Hinata.” Tsukishima explain. Yamaguchi nodded slowly, but it didn’t feel right.

“I hate the fact it doesn’t work on you.” Kageyama stated, rolling his eyes.

“Just get Yamaguchi out of the mind state you have him in.” Tsukishima sighed. Kageyama rolled his eyes again, then flicked his hand to the side. 

Suddenly Yamaguchi’s mind cleared. “Hinata! Where is he?” he asked desperately.

“I’ll tell you if you give me my medallion.” Kageyama replied simply. The medallion - or pendant, whatever it was called - was safe in Yamaguchi’s back pocket. He shook his head. “Why not, it won’t affect you in any way if you do.” Kageyama stated.

“It will. I can’t give it to you.” Yamaguchi replied. He felt confident. He had just stood up to someone who people called ‘King’. 

“I guess I’ll just keep Hinata for now.” Kageyama responded. Yamaguchi was conflicted. _I have my reason to keep this, but if I do Hinata will be in trouble,_ he thought. He was about to say something, when Tsukishima interrupted.

“Show us what state Hinata is currently in. We’ll come to a compromise then.” he said.

“Tsukki..” Yamaguchi breathed. Tsukishima turned and glared at him.

“Fine. Follow me.” Kageyama replied. Yamaguchi got nervous. _Oh my God. I hope he’s okay. Please let Hinata be okay. Please let Hinata be okay. Please let Hinata be okay,_ he thought. He kept repeating those last five words over and over again, trying to bribe that into existence. “He’s just around here..” Kageyama trailed off, then pointed to an open day. Hinata was sitting at a desk, lazily writing notes. He slowly turned toward the door to see the two newcomers.

“Kageyama, who are they? Why are they here?” Hinata asked, his voice light. Yamaguchi began to walk up to him, but Tsukishima put a hand in front of him before he could get close.

“I forgot I did that.” Kageyama said, then made a series of hand movements before Hinata perked up a bit. His mouth turned into a wide smile.

 

“Did what?” Yamaguchi asked.

“Kageyama obviously made Hinata forget you. That’s the sort of self-obsessed jerk he is. Makes Hinata forget about his friends so he could have him all to himself.” Tsukishima replied.

“Shut up.” Kageyama replied.

“I wasn’t talking to you.” Tsukishima responded smoothly.

“Anyway about the deal-” Kageyama began, but was cut off.

“Yamaguchi!” Hinata shouted excitedly from behind him. Kageyama turned around, to face to face - not really, since Hinata was much shorter than him - with him. “I thought you were supposed to be studying.” he said. Hinata nodded.

“I know, but Yamaguchi’s here! I wanna say hi-” but this time he was cut off.

By Kageyama kissing him. 

It was barely even a second, but it was enough to get Hinata to stop talking. Yamaguchi stood shocked.

 “I.. what?” he asked. Tsukishima leaned to him.

“Remember what I said earlier? He’s using different ways to get Hinata under his control.” he whispered to Yamaguchi. He nodded. “It’s his Power Selection. _Control_. He can control almost anyone, physically or mentally.” Tsukishima explained, then stood back to his full height.

“So, what’s your offer for you to return Hinata to us safe?” he asked.

“I told you, just return my pendant without complaint. You’ve seen the state of Hinata and he’s fine. I just have to lift my spell from him then he’s completely okay. Though, I was having a bit of fun with him.” Kageyama explained.

“Yamaguchi, give me the pendant.” Tsukishima stated. Yamaguchi shook his head, staring straight at Tsukishima. “Why don’t you want to?” he asked.

“I can’t say.” Yamaguchi whispered.

“Tell me. It’s either you give this jerk his pendant, or your friend’s life.” Tsukishima stated.

“Just give it to me. I’ll return Hinata safe.” Kageyama said. _Now they’re both against me. I guess I’ll have to tell them the truth. It’s the most cliché reason possible,_ Yamaguchi thought. Suddenly both Tsukishima and Kageyama were talking loud, convincing him to hand over the pendant.

“No!” Yamaguchi shouted, and they both silenced because they didn't expect him to raise his voice. “It’s.. it’s because.. if I do..” Yamaguchi swallowed, “if I do, I’ll lose Tsukki too!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was quite a long chapter (compared to usual)  
> so I hope you don't mind the lowkey kagehina toward the end lmao  
> all comments, reviews and kudos are greatly appreciated! thanks for reading ^-^


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